Alternate
by Brian1
Summary: There's more than one way to end a story. A collection of alternate endings to my current Bleach stories. Now featuring: Epilogue.
1. Damaged

**Alternate: Damaged**

They were now washing the dishes together, although he made sure he did not brush her hands with his. _No need to make the situation any more awkward for yourself_, he thought.

Inoue smiled at the Quincy, noticing how uncomfortable he looked. She slipped her fingers expertly under his, and made a content sound.

She heard him swallow loudly, and though their hands were under the water she could feel his pulse race.

"You would look much better if you didn't look so gloomy, Ishida," she said, smiling at him.

He reddened considerably, and coughed, going back to cleaning dishes, with his free hand…which was proving to be a much more difficult task as he managed to drop one of the plates on to the floor.

He frantically tried to pick up one of the pieces, mumbling apologies the whole time, and he made a loud, uncharacteristic yelp. She saw that he had accidentally cut his hand, and without hesitating, deftly took hold of it with both her palms. She closed her eyes, her hairclips suddenly glowing with an ethereal light.

Ishida watched as his hand was enveloped in a triangle shaped dome, as Orihime's magical fairies healed (or reversed the time and space continuum, he hadn't been clear on the specifics) the surrounding the area of his hand that had been cut.

The fairies nodded to her as they finished their job, before returning to wherever they came from.

They had left no visible marks on his hand, doing a better job of repairing him than he at repairing dolls. He was impressed, flexing his hand and smiling at Orihime.

"Good as new," he said, showing her.

And that's when he noticed it. He had to adjust his glasses when he thought he saw something from the corner of his eye, something that he didn't think he'd see again.

He held out his hand away from himself, realizing what was happening: he was gathering energy, spiritual energy from his surroundings and into the palm of his hand, slowly forming into a blue colored bow of light.

He could only stare in disbelief at his spirit bow and Inoue, wondering how she had managed to fix him.

"Thank you, Inoue," he said, voice shaking slightly, emotions threatening to overtake him as he adjusted his glasses, struggling to maintain his composure.

She smiled at him knowingly, needing no further praise from the Quincy. "You're welcome, Quincy-Ishida."

**End**


	2. Secret

**Alternate: Secret**

Tatsuki moved closer to Orihime, sighing contently. Orihime reciprocated the movement, putting her head on her friend's shoulder like she had done many times in the past. A hesitant arm wrapped itself around Orihime, causing her to get closer to Tatsuki.

"Orihime…"

"Yes?"

Tatsuki suddenly fell silent, deciding that today shouldn't be boggled down by any more secrets or confessions. She kissed her friend on her forehead, letting her lips linger longer than necessary.

Orihime smiled and closed her eyes, feeling her heart rest inside her chest. "That was nice…"

Tatsuki's eyes widened in shock, as she was not expecting that response from the orange-haired girl. She hesitantly leaned in again, until her lips were almost touching another pair.

Orihime opened her eyes, seemingly not minding the sudden closeness of her friend. Tatsuki took this as a sign that she may proceed, though her mind was racing and she couldn't quite comprehend the situation. All she knew was that she _needed_ this…_needed _her.

She kissed her lightly at first, not wanting to be too rough yet. Orihime tensed at first, but slowly melted into the kiss, awkwardly putting an arm around the slim waist of her friend. Tatsuki's heart raced at the positive reaction, and she hurriedly deepened the kiss, not wanting to let this moment between them go to waste.

After a few more moments, she broke off the kiss, panting for air while holding Orihime close to her chest, not wanting to let go.

"You're…you're okay with me…being like this, right?" she asked quietly, holding her friend tenderly close.

She felt Orihime's head nod, and her heart rejoiced.

Orihime wasn't sure if she liked Tatsuki like that, but at the same time she did not object to the idea of having another kiss from her. While Ichigo did cross her mind for a brief second, she knew that it was best to just focus on the person in front of her…who was not just any person, but her _best friend_.

And, after carefully reviewing the events from today, she was possibly even _more _than that.

**End**


	3. Dissonance

**Alternate: Dissonance**

Yuzu groaned as she came to, her body aching from the fall she took earlier. Her mind was still hazy and she quite couldn't remember what happened, as if it were a dream that was fading away like how most dreams do.

She managed to stand up against her better judgment, wanting to find out what was going on. She winced as she put a hand to the right side of her face, confirming that she was or had been bleeding. She slumped against the nearby wall for support, looking around the cramped room and finding it in complete disarray. The three beds were turned over and the shelves had been knocked down, but most distressing was seeing her twin sister lying on the floor. She quickly bent down and examined her sister, frantically checking her breathing and pulse.

She let out a sigh of relief as she realized that her sister was still alive. However, upon closer inspection she found that Karin's legs were bent at an unnatural angle from her body.

"Karin…" she whimpered, her eyes welling up with tears. The very idea that her sister, who loved physical activities and sports more than anything, would never be able to walk again broke her heart. She cried over the unconscious body of her sister, wishing that it had been her instead.

Her mind was beginning to clear up, the haze dissipating as a flash of memory appeared to her.

The sound of screaming had woken up both Karin and Yuzu to the sight of their new roommate being assaulted by an unknown man. On closer inspection, Yuzu had realized that this man was none other than her big brother, who she knew for a fact would never do such a thing to a woman.

Her sister Karin, always one for actions rather than words, leapt on to their brother, trying to stop him from hurting Rukia. Yuzu wasn't able to move, legs frozen in fear at the very idea of her always protective big brother harming a defenseless woman.

The last thing she saw before she regained consciousness was his arm slamming into her head, knocking her out cold.

Yuzu gently laid Karin's head down, remembering from her training as a nurse that you should not move an injured person without proper assistance. She had to go find help…and she had to go find her brother, because something deep inside her told her that he was in trouble. Even if he was the one who hit her and did all those terrible things tonight, she reasoned that there had to be at an exceptionally good excuse.

She stumbled out of the room, clutching at her head and hoping she wouldn't faint from blood loss. She limped towards the direction of Ichigo's room, feeling an unusual presence coming from it. The door was half-opened, allowing her to peak inside. Two blurry figures dressed in black robes were fighting with swords, one colored white and the other black.

_They must be evil spirits_, she thought fearfully. _One of them must have taken control of brother and cause him to do all those bad things to Rukia!_

She had never been great with sensing spirits compared to her siblings, but for some unknown reason they were starting to become clearer and clearer by the second.

As her vision was clearing she found herself beginning to hear snippets of conversation going on between the two spirits.

"I will kill you."

The spirit, which she could see had short dark hair, stood defiantly, her hands gripped on the white colored sword.

"…kill me?"

The spirit with the black sword ran toward the other spirit, and he appeared to be laughing either happily or manically, she couldn't tell which.

"Hey, Rukia..."

Yuzu let out a gasp as her vision became crystal clear suddenly, allowing her to see her brother release a black sword from his hands, letting it clatter to the floor. He had been impaled, the tip of the other spirit's sword visibly protruding out of his back. She could only see the back of the other spirit's head, but found herself straining her ears to hear what her brother was trying to say. His lips were moving but no sound was coming out, except for two bits:

"Thanks, Rukia."

And then he went silent, his head drooping low and his hands falling to his side, and Yuzu knew in her heart that the brother she loved so much was now dead.

She could hear the spirit crying. "Ichigo…? Please…not you too…"

She watched through teary eyes as the spirit, which she now knew was Rukia, pulled her sword out of Ichigo's body and held him close, crying just as much as she was.

_Don't cry, little girl…_

Yuzu blinked, wondering where that thought had just come from.

_She killed your brother…_

Yuzu eyes darted around the room, trying to find where that voice was hidden, and found that it was coming from the large black sword that her brother had dropped earlier. It seemed to glow unnaturally, causing her to shiver involuntarily.

_That girl over there is a murderer. She killed your brother, don't you see? Look at her…those black, ominous robes…and that white blade of hers is stained with his blood…your brother's blood!_

Yuzu blinked again, pondering over the voice's words, and finding that they did make sense.

_He was only trying to protect his family…he needed to kill her before she could kill him and your sister and you…he was trying to protect you, but then she put him under an evil spell. Don't let her appearance fool you!_

She closed her eyes, now ignoring the anguished wails and screams of Rukia, focusing entirely on the voice.

_Kill her…before she kills your whole family!_

Yuzu found herself nodding as she felt something stirring deep within her body, giving her the resolve to do what needed to be done.

_Pick me up! Use the power that's been growing inside of you to protect your family! It's all up to you now!_

She opened the door quietly, intending to pick up the sword her brother had left for her, his last parting gift, she thought somberly. She was going to finish what her brother had started, because any loving sister would do the same.

**End**


	4. Stand

**Alternate: Stand**

Word of the ryoka's arrival into Soul Society spread quickly throughout the rest of Rukongai, although by the time it reached Masaki Kurosaki it was far too late for her to do anything except pray.

A small boy, who had previously been a parrot, told her one morning while she was tending to her garden. He was excited, also revealing to her that he had met the ryoka before when he was in the living world.

"Miss Masaki! Miss Masaki!" the boy had asked, pulling at the hem of her dress in a way that felt familiar to her.

She had smiled pleasantly at him, allowing him to catch his breath before continuing with what he was about to reveal.

"I met a group of ryoka a few days ago," he had said, still breathless from running all the way to her house, which was about two districts away from his own.

"Ryoka?" she had asked, mulling over the word, as if it held some great power. "What about these ryoka?"

The small boy had a grin from ear to ear, his eyes sparkling brighter than she had ever seen. "They were from the town we lived in! Karakura!"

She had let out a small gasp, as it was quite rare to find people you knew that had resided in the same town as yours. Rukongai was a big place, and for someone to come from Karakura meant that there was a small chance that they might possibly know a few important people close to her heart.

"Go on," she had said, urging him to sit down, "tell me more…please."

The boy had smiled widely, refusing to sit and instead blurted out, "There was the man who saved me! The one with the spirit arm! You remember what I said about him, right?"

She had nodded knowingly.

"Then there was the girl with the magical fairies!"

She had blinked, feeling another sense of familiarity. A lifetime ago she had been blessed by the power of those fairies, and to know that they might have possibly found someone else to protect had filled her with a sense of pride.

"A Quincy was among them as well!"

Quincy? She had remembered Isshin talking about a group called the Quincy one day. They were a group of spiritually empowered humans, much like herself, only that they relied on the energy around them as opposed to their inner spiritual strength.

"But the most important thing was I saw someone, someone I think you might know, Miss Masaki."

Her eyes had grown wide at that point, growing excited by the very prospect.

"He had orange hair, and he carried a long sword on his back, and he was very powerful."

"Ichigo…" she had whispered, knowing that it could not be anyone but her boy.

He had gone on to talk excitedly about the fight the ryoka had with the Soul Society guardian, and how they had entered into the main court, and that they were rumors that they were actually winning fights against lieutenants and captains.

Masaki had known of her son's potential, especially after witnessing her husband's strength when he had first rescued her all those years ago. She had no doubt that Ichigo would become as powerful as his father, perhaps more so.

Still, she had prayed, hoping for her son's safety in the upcoming battles that he would face, because she knew the path of a Soul Reaper would not be easy. While she missed her son and family dearly, she did not want to greet Ichigo until it was his proper time to go to the afterlife.

Days later, when she was informed personally by Captain Ukitake of the events that transpired in Soul Society, a smile brimming with motherly pride became etched onto her fair features.

"He saved Rukia Kuchiki from execution," Ukitake had added, looking incredibly relieved, "if not for him, she would've been killed."

She had told him, "Captain Ukitake…my son saves the people that he cares about, even if he has to stand against heaven to do so."

**End**


	5. Prize

**Alternate: Prize**

"Allow me, Kurosaki."

Before he could say anything the Quincy Archer was already standing next to him, a look of cool determination on his face. "This seems to be a simple matter of grabbing Miss Kuchiki's doll with the metal arm. How did you manage not to do so twice already?"

Ichigo shot the Quincy a glare, as if to say "I'll kick your ass if you say another word."

Ishida ignored his Soul Reaper friend and dropped some money into the machine. Without a word he grabbed the joystick and within moments the bunny was dropped into the chute…almost. It managed, somehow, to bounce upwards after hitting the chute, causing it to land comfortably in front of the glass, taunting the Quincy for his futile efforts.

The Quincy stood there gawking at the bunny, his grip tightening on the joystick while he remained motionless.

By this point, Ichigo had stopped laughing and was somewhat (but not quite) worried about the Quincy, who was starting to shake. "Hey, Ishida…?"

He saw the Quincy pause, and for a second he thought maybe he should grab Rukia and get the hell out of there before the guy exploded. Instead, the Quincy's shoulders slumped over in defeat, and he uttered quietly, "I…have failed you."

As Ichigo tried patting his friend on the back, assuring him that it wasn't that big of a deal, Rukia crossed her arms impatiently, wondering if anyone realized that she was still waiting for her bunny doll.

Elsewhere, a girl with hairpins smiled as she had a tea party with her talking rabbit doll, which had an odd habit of explaining things in an unusual manner.

"Would you like some traditional candy to go along with your tea?" she asked cordially, offering the talking rabbit a plate of bizarre and certainly not traditional candy. It could only frown (as much as a doll could) and politely decline the well-endowed girl's version of "candy."

**End**


	6. Destroyer

**Alternate: Destroyer**

Uryu Ishida, the last of the Quincy, stood over the incapacitated soul reaper, a faint smile on his usually emotionless face. Ichigo Kurosaki, the last of the Soul Reapers, was pinned to the ground by countless spirit arrows, no longer able to call upon his soul slayer's power.

"I've defeated you, Ichigo," Ishida said, as if he always knew he would've been the victor. "You lost."

Ichigo, heavily bleeding due to the new holes in his body, could only gurgle blood in response.

Ishida bent down. "I couldn't hear you. Speak up, Kurosaki. What happened to that loud mouth of yours?"

The defeated soul reaper blinked his only working eye slowly, defiantly, as if to say that he still had more fight left in him. Ishida narrowed his empty eyes at the soul reaper, before kicking Ichigo in the head hard, eliciting a muffled groan in response.

"I told you to stay out of my way," Ishida said, regaining his composure. "But you never did listen to those more powerful than you. You always tried fought, never thinking or planning ahead. You represent pure instinct. I, on the other hand, symbolize intellect."

Ishida stood up and aimed his spirit bow at Ichigo's head. "And with my vast intellect, I will recreate this world to bring her back." He released the arrow without a second thought, watching it hit its target with perfect accuracy.

"Goodbye, Kurosaki. See you soon," Ishida said. He watched as his former friend was consumed by blue colored spirit energy, before fading from existence.

Now Ishida had nothing left to stand in his way of achieving his goals. He was the most powerful person in the world with Ichigo Kurosaki's death; he had no equal.

_Inoue, _Ishida thought, letting his bow fall the ground, _I can almost hear your voice from the heavens. You sound as beautiful as you did when you were still by my side._

"We'll be together soon."

He could almost picture her smiling at him, begging him to try one of her new food concoctions, or to go watch the latest movie downtown.

Four spiritual wings protruded out of his back, glowing blue with energy. He picked up his discarded bow and flew into the air, the spirit wings providing him with the ability to fly high up into the clouds.

_It is time to remake this world, _Ishida thought. He gathered up all of his energy, and the energy around him, to create the largest arrow he could. If he did this, he knew there would be no turning back. The world has he knew it would be gone forever.

_Ever since Orihime died, my world hasn't been the same._

The arrow was larger than any he had ever created; even he, with all the power he had gained, had trouble containing it.

_I love you._

He released the arrow without hesitation, knowing with the utmost confidence that he had done the right thing.

**End**


	7. Epilogue

**Alternate: Epilogue**

Captain Rukia Kuchiki stands atop a telephone poll, the same one she stood on years before when it all began.

She feels so much power now, more than she's ever felt before. It surges through her body like electricity. She supposes that she's probably the most powerful Soul Reaper in existence now.

If she wanted to, she could take over Soul Society. None of them would be able to stop her.

She laughs softly at the thought. Her mind is being influenced by the Hollow that was now inside of her, but she's strong enough to resist.

"It always rains when you're sad, doesn't it?" a voice from within says.

"Yes," she answers. She takes out the Quincy poison that Kurotsuchi developed so that Ichigo wouldn't be able to enter Soul Society. She examines the vial of spiritual liquid, looking at it with some disdain.

"You have so much power…use it," the voice tells her again.

All of the captains told her that one life could be sacrificed for the good of everyone else. She fully agrees with this statement…but it was never her intention to kill Ichigo Kurosaki.

"How did you do it, anyways?" the voice asks.

"There was a residual trace of my own power still inside of Ichigo. I merely used that as a key to open the door inside of him, so that I could take you out of him and into me," she explains, as if she was talking to a small child.

It was always about power.

She opens the vial of liquid and soaks her blade with it.

She can feel the Hollow inside grow fearful. "What are you doing?"

"Ending this," she answers. She plunges her blade inside of herself, the other side protruding out of her back.

Strangely, she doesn't feel any pain as her spirit fades slowly from existence. There will be no butterfly to lead her to Soul Society, but she feels at peace knowing that Ichigo will be alive and able to finally live a normal life.

She can feel the Hollow disintegrate inside of her, and she allows herself to breathe a sigh of relief even as she's fading faster. She wonders what it will feel like when she's reduced to nothingness…she hopes it won't be cold.

Rukia blinks. She can see the faces of those long gone slowly begin to appear before her.

Kaien and Renji are there, waving to her. Her brother is there too, smiling at her. Her sister Hisana is by his side. The Quincy, along with Inoue and Chad, all wave to her.

She can see Kon jumping excitedly, his body no longer that of a stuffed animal but something along the lines of Ichigo's instead. Who knew that the stuffed animal would choose Ichigo as a basis for what he would look like in the after-after-life?

She can see the others that went before her, the ones that had died during the battle with Aizen. All of them are smiling peacefully.

Ichigo's friends all place a comforting hand on Rukia. She can actually feel them, as if they were alive. But how was this possible? They had been destroyed, and she was fading from existence as well…so how?

"Kuchiki," Ishida says softly.

"Hello," Chad greets her.

"Welcome home," Inoue says warmly, putting her arms around her in a tight embrace.

"Home?" Rukia is in disbelief. How can this be? Wasn't her soul being destroyed?

"Yes, home! You're finally here," Renji said, laughing heartily. "I missed your funny face, idiot."

Kaien laughs along with him. "It's good to see you again."

Her sister Hisana comes forward. "You can stay here, if you'd like," she hears her sister say.

"That…sounds nice," Rukia replies.

The telephone poll, where everything began and subsequently ended, is now empty.

"I'm home," she whispers, allowing herself to smile wide at all the family and friends that have assembled before her.

**End**


End file.
